Winter is a good time to look for cheap seeds

Stuck in the house becase oof the snow,ice or rain? Now is a good time to think of spring. American Meadow, and Vermont Wild Flower sell little packets of flower seeds for well under one dollar. If you are just starting a garden, these packets produce flowers the very first year. They have many choices that are perfect for different environments. So you can find flowers that will love your environment from hot and dry to cool, wet, and shady . This salvia, great as a cut flower, blooms in August from seeds planted very early or from small flats available in most garden centers in early spring . It has reseeded itself in my garden.

quick ways to make winter plants into summer flowers

Most supermarkets have primrose plants for sale. They come in a wide variety of colors from purple to pale yellow or white. Buy a few - they cost from about $3 for two to about $2.50 a plant. Keep them watered and in a cool room. Indirect light on a diningroom table or by a northern or easterly facing window are best. If you keep watering them, just before they dry out, they will flower for up to six weeks. Even after they have stopped flowering, continue to water them. Then plant them out in the spring after frost, but before it gets hot. They may not bloom again that first spring, but they will continue to bloom the following spring and will, if happy, spread and bloom every year after that.

How to find cheap seeds that are easy to grow

There are many seed catalogs but, one of my favorite seed catalogs that has lots of choices and isn’t expensive is Shumway’s. Most of their seed packets of annual flowers only cost $1.85 per packet if you order 6 or more. I order most of my annual flower seed from them for my cutting garden. That way I can have 10 kinds of flowers to cut from late spring through the fall for just over $25.